These are designs I'm going to try. I got these off of the sub $10 offerings from Amazon. I know better then to buy them. This will be the easiest. Now sure on what to use for a stem but I'll figure it out. This is a Mr Brog pipe copy I think. This just looks neat. even if it doesn't work it'll go well on a shelf. If I taper it right and shape the end I might get away with it being a one piece. This will be the hardest but I like the way it looks. the short chubby pipes like the Big Ben pipo pipes look pretty good.
I have always believed this to be the case, plus I like the feel of the rusticated finish. I had the opportunity to ask a pipe maker about the theory of rusticated pipes smoking cooler due to a larger surface enabling greater heat dissipation, and he said that was absolutely true. It's the same concept in firearm target barrels that are fluted. The fluting facilitates heat dissipation.
I have to work hard not to smoke too fast and hot. Maybe I should stick to my smooth pipes since they tell me when to slow down.
The challenge on the latter two designs will be proper drilling of the stem so the draft hole comes out as close to the bottom of the bowl as possible, and also needs to be centered.
I'm going to drill the stem first and then ease the drill in for the bowl stopping before it should meet and then finishing the hole with a router bit chucked into a drill press. That should drill a round bottomed hole and if I am real careful and check it every mm or so I should be able to stop when I get to the stem hole. Centering is the hardest part. Very very careful use of the drill press and vises should help there.
For stem cleaning, I recommend using any neutral alcohol such as gin or vodka, but any type will work. Dip a pipe cleaner a couple of inches into the spirits, and work the wet portion of the cleaner back and forth in the stem, then pulling it on through so the dry portion is the last part through the stem. I keep a cheap bottle of vodka around for pipe cleaning. A $6 bottle of vodka will last you a very long time, unless you take a few nips while pipe cleaning! You can buy commercial pipe cleaning solutions, but any type of spirits will work as well. After working the cleaner through the stem, I will run the wet portion into the shank a few times. I finish my pipe cleaning by wetting a Q-tip with saliva in my mouth and running it around the top of the bowl, if it is smooth. Saliva works really well to dissolve the tars that can accumulate around the top. Once when out of town, I forgot to bring my small bottle of spirits for cleaning stems, so I wet the pipe cleaner in my mouth and it worked okay in a pinch. Alcohol does work better in the stem and shank, but be sure to keep it off the exterior finish of the pipe. I do the baking soda/olive oil exterior treatment on vulcanite stems once a year or thereabouts. There is a commercial product for shining stems and briar exteriors that is superior to olive oil, but the olive oil works and most people already have it in the kitchen. I suppose canola or any other cooking oil would work. I just like olive oil. Sometimes I will double up a pipe cleaner and wipe it around the inside of the bowl. Not sure what, if any good this does, but sometimes I do it. In extreme cases the salt and alcohol method is needed in a bowl, especially in an estate pipe that can be sour. But by and large, I believe that proper cleaning of the stem and shank, and allowing for drying, will be sufficient for routine cleaning. I've wandered off from your original question, but these are my general thoughts on pipe cleaning.
These 2 pipes have been stored and they tasted off a bit so I deep cleaned. I have some oxidation on the kaywoodie stem I still need to clean off. the Grabow looks great now. I got the inside of the stems clean it just took time, pipe cleaners and alcohol. I'm wondering how to clean the outside of the kaywoodie bowl without taking any of the white off of it. I'm going to try a damp cloth. Maybe I'll lick it a few times if saliva helps.
I think I would stick to a slightly damp cloth, and then wipe with a dry cloth. I've looked for the product online that cleans and shines exterior briar and stems, but,can't find it right now. That would be the ideal thing. I've got a can of it somewhere; I'll look for it later and take a picture of it. In the meantime, I wonder if a very light application of a carnauba wax, followed by some light buffing with a soft cloth like an old T-shirt would work. What does everyone think of that? Edit: maybe a very light wipe with canola or olive oil on the outside, and then wiped dry would work.
The white coating has me almost afraid to clean it. Its probably good briar underneath so I shouldn't be worried about it coming off. already has some spots that the briar is showing through and a spot on the bottom that looks like someone tried to fix it with white out. Its not a collectors piece. Firmly user grade with a chewed stem and chips and nicks and scuffs and dents.
Had a break in the drizzly cold rain today, so I went out and enjoyed a bowl of PS 301 Natural Dutch Cavendish in a Brittania Royal Lnacer The pipe is a very nice smoker. There doesn't appear to be much info on the web about these.
I'm not familiar with that brand, but that's a nice looking pipe! I like it. Is PS 301 a flavored cavendish? I know the name says natural.
tobaccoreview.com says it doesn't have any flavoring, and I can't detect any, although it's my understanding that Dutch cavendish is typically flavored. I just opened the jar for a whiff and got no scent of flavoring, although there's a very slight Latakia scent, even though I know there's no Latakia in it. It must be the cavendish.
I made one of the pipes I wanted to try to make. I tried to turn an ebony stem for it but it blew apart once on the lathe and the 2nd try cracked on the drill press. So I gave up and used brass tubing. I'll take a picture when I get to my phone. it has the best camera.
Here is my homemade pipe next to a Dr Grabow for scale. I thought the brass stem would smoke alittle hot so I made it longer. I'll get a short cigerette holder sometime and put it on the other end of the brass tube. I managed to get it drilled correctly on the first try. When I get home I'll sip a bowl through it very carefully. The bowl is hard rock maple.
Late night pipe in celebration of the Crimson Tide's victory over Auburn, clinching the SEC West and a spot in the SEC Championship. SG Chocolate Flake folded and stuffed in a Nording bent brandy. True to form, this SG offering was a little hard to light and keep lit, but is an enjoyable blend to me if you can put up with a few re-lights.
Well I'm home finally and I'm in the first 1/4 bowl of the new pipe. I'm smoking Captain Black Gold. I didn't want to waste the good orlik on a pipe that might not work well. So far its smoking very cold the smoke is also cooler then I expected. The bowl is slightly narrower then my Kaywoodie or Dr Grabow and slightly deeper as well. It holds more tobacco then my basket pipe but less then my named pipes. The draw is very open. No resistance at all. I used a slightly too larger drill bit when I drilled out that part. The stem being so open helps with that open feeling I'm sure. I may whittle a small maple bit for the other end of the brass pipe. I only finished it with carnuba wax while it was spinning and again on a buffing wheel to catch the top rim and bottom with the wax. The Maple sat in the shop or my tool box for 9 years so its very dry.
If you can find some bamboo, a section of that would be fairly easy to hollow out with a heated wire hanger and might make a good stem.
I kind of like the brass look. It smokes surprisingly cool so far too. I've never smoked a maple pipe or anything metal. It tastes very fresh, very different. I've broken in a briar pipe before and this tastes different.
I like the ingenuity! I bet if you are successful with the maple bit for the stem end, that will feel better to the mouth.
Its too long to clench so I'm sipping from the end of the pipe. I made sure to burnish off the sharp parts inside and out before I put my mouth to it. I would guess that its a 12 inch stem piece. I like it so far. Very easy to smoke.
